Secret pre-Iraq War talks between Blair and Bush to be published

Tony Blair and George Bush exchanged voluminous correspondence prior to the start of military operations in Iraq. Now, the UK is moving to declassify details of the talks for an inquiry into Britain’s involvement in the conflict, British media reported.

The release, set for the upcoming year, is expected to include
more than 100 documents, described as a collection of notes,
records of 200 minutes of ministerial level talks, telephone
conversations and private meetings between the British prime
minister and American president, The Independent reported.

This will give the green light for the Chilcot Iraq Inquiry to
publish an account of the conflict, where much attention will be
given to decisions made by then Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Indeed, the files could play a major part in determining Blair’s
historical legacy, which critics say has been stained by the Iraq
War.

Blair has been criticized for failing to challenge then-US
President George W. Bush on Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass
destruction, specifically chemical and biological weapons, which
a Joint Intelligence Committee report said in September 2002
“could be ready for firing in 45 minutes.”

The former Labour leader said he worked to restrain the Bush
administration’s seeming determination for military involvement
in Iraq, even as UN weapons inspectors on the ground failed to
discover any chemical or biological stockpiles.

A senior government official predicted the results of the inquiry
will not do Blair any favors: "In the new year it seems the
Chilcot inquiry is going to be published. Everyone will be
assuming: bad hair day for Tony Blair and Jack Straw." Straw
served as Blair’s secretary of state.

One noteworthy correspondence between Blair and Bush, contained
in a note dated July 2002, suggests the then prime minister had
pledged Britain’s support to the United States in a military
operation to oust former Iraq President Saddam Hussein.

Blair told the inquiry: "In a sense what I was saying to
America was: 'Look' – and by the way, I am absolutely sure this
is how George Bush took it – 'whatever the political heat, if I
think this is the right thing to do I am going to be with you. I
am not going to back out because the going gets tough. On the
other hand, here are the difficulties and this is why I think the
UN route is the right way to go.’"

Meanwhile, a British government source on Sunday said officials
were trying to declassify the records in a way that does not
threaten national security.

“The intention is to be as open as possible,” the
source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying
by The Independent. “There is an ongoing process of
declassification, which is attempting to strike a careful balance
to ensure that you are not setting a legal precedent that could
oblige you to publish other documents in the future or damage
national security.”

Aside from providing a public account of the government’s actions
in the run-up to the Iraq War, publication of the documents will
also allow individuals who come in for criticism in the report to
explain their actions before hostilities in Iraq began.

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman commented on Sunday: “The
Government is currently engaged in discussions with the [Iraq]
inquiry which the inquiry recognizes raises difficult issues,
including legal and international relations issues.

“As the exchange of letters between government and the
inquiry shows, these issues are being worked through in good
faith and with a view to reaching a position as rapidly as
possible. The inquiry should be allowed to publish its findings
and we should not pre-empt the content of the report.”

There has been some speculation, however, as to how effective the
Iraq Inquiry can hope to be in determining the British
government’s - not to mention Tony Blair’s - position on jumping
on board George W. Bush’s Iraq war bandwagon.
UK officials said their “intention is to be as open as
possible,” yet the final decision on what will be released
will be made by cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, the same
individual who fought against publication of the Blair-Bush
correspondence in the first place.

At the same time, another government source told The Independent,
“There are likely to be some redactions – but only where
absolutely necessary.”

The decision to invade Iraq, which led to a lengthy war that ran
from March 2003 until December 15, 2011, attracted large protests
around the world, and caused the United States to lose much of
the global support it had received in the immediate aftermath of
the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

In November 2003, Bush paid a visit to London where he pledged,
amid large protests, that “democracy would succeed” in
Iraq due to America’s military intervention in the country. One
decade later, however, the country is experiencing regular
episodes of violent acts, mostly in the form of terrorist
bombings, a largely unheard of phenomenon before US troops
invaded the country in 2003.

In Iraq, an estimated 8,955 people have died, making 2013 the
deadliest year since 2008, according to the Iraq Body Count.

In September 2004, Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary General,
expressed his views on the invasion, saying, "I have
indicated it was not in conformity with the UN Charter. From our
point of view, from the Charter point of view, it was
illegal."

The Chilcot Inquiry, named after its chairman, Sir John Chilcot,
who pushed for the release of the classified documents, is
expected to be released by the end of 2014.